Coldatom Week Day 2 High School AU
by OliviaR5Warbler
Summary: Len hates school policy. Because of it his father is hunting him and his boyfriend like animals Character Death, slightly dark
Day 2 High School/College AU

Len always figured he'd die at the hands of his father, but he never pictured it to be like this: cowering in a dark room with the one kid in school his father hated more than he did his own son. Why the hell did school policy mean his father had to be informed that his son was gay? It fucking sucked from where Len was sitting.

The other boy, Len's until recently secret boyfriend Ray Palmer clasped his hand tightly where the pair sat, out of sight under the teacher's desk of the detention room. 34 minutes had passed since the first bullet rang out, 34 slow and agonizing minutes.

Ray Palmer was everything Len's father had wanted him to be. Smart, athletic, he got good grades but like Lewis' own failure of a son, he was gay. And by the connections drawn in his tiny, primitive mind, it was one of their faults he just didn't know whose.

Len had first kissed Ray back in Junior year, in the locker room after they had lost the game, thanks to his pitching errors and Len thought he needed cheering up. Before that they had had a quiet friendship that rested on their hidden sexualities after they had met in a teen gay chatroom and recognized each other's screen names. Len had previously wondered how it was that the two seemingly only closeted teens had been drawn to each other. Ray had joked about soulmates but Len rolled his eyes. They were studying Romeo and Juliet at the time. Another pair of doomed lovers. That had always been the premise to Len's father. Ray was tutoring him in math and Len tutoring him in languages. Luckily his dad was so neglectful he never noticed they changed languages frequently.

Their first kiss was nothing to boast about however. Ray was a sweaty mess full of anger and self-hate and Len was simply experimenting. Until about their 9th kiss Len was never sure what his sexuality even was. He still didn't know, all he knew was he knew what he liked and what he liked was making out with Ray Palmer.

More gunshots echoed through the school. His father seemed to be searching the school, room by room for them. Len knew it was only a matter of time before he made it to their room. "Ray," he breathed softly.

"Yeah?"

"I can't believe I haven't said this yet but-"

"Don't say it, if you say it you expect to die and trust me, we're gonna be fine."

"Normally I love your optimism but my dad is here to kill at least one of us."

"I know but thinking about it is making me panic, I'm scared to die," Ray confided, "there's so much I never got to do and so much I wanted to do more," he said softly squeezing Len's hand.

"Ray you're a good person, if it does happen, you'll be in a good place."

"You too," Ray told him.

"No Ray," Len sighed, "I've done bad things, if there is a hell, there's a spot with my name on it, I just know."

"Len you're one of the bravest guys I know, you're smart, compassionate, you care for your sister and love her and I love you."

"Ray I spent two years in Juvie, trust me, nothing good is waiting for me when I die," more gun shots sounded, closer this time, both boys flinched and a tear spilled over Len's cheek. "The one good thing that'll come of this is my sister will be free of that abusive jerk, he can never hurt her again," Len took a deep breath, releasing it slowly, trying to calm himself. "Hey Ray?"

"Mmm?"

More shots, possibly the next room.

"If I'm going to die, I wanna do it pissing off my old man," he resigned, "wanna die in sin?"

Ray listened to the footsteps echoing down the corridor and slowly blinked, this was really it. They were going to die in a few moments. It was inevitable. He nodded, "I love you," he murmured leaning forward to kiss Len, tears running freely over both their cheeks, they were visible through the glass pane in the door, and they didn't care.

They say when you die your life flashes before your eyes. Neither boy saw their lives, neither thought about where they were and neither thought about those they were leaving behind.

All they heard was shattering glass.

And all they saw was a white light.


End file.
